Standard Lemma guide

copulation

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /kɒp.jəˈleɪ.ʃən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of coupling or joining; union; conjunction.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Sexual procreation between a man and a woman or transfer of the sperm from male to female; usually applied to the mating process in nonhuman animals; coitus; coition.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the act of sexual procreation between a man and a woman; the man's penis is inserted into the woman's vagina and excited until orgasm and ejaculation occur

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sexual intercourse, intercourse, sex act, coitus, coition, sexual congress, congress, sexual relation, relation, carnal knowledge

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sexual activity, sexual practice, sex, sex activity

Narrower terms: defloration, fuck, fucking, screw, screwing, ass, nooky, nookie, piece of ass, piece of tail, roll in the hay, shag, shtup, hank panky, penetration, unlawful carnal knowledge, criminal congress

History

Etymology

From Middle French copulation, from Latin copulo (“to join, unite, connect”).

Across languages

Translations

81 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: կապում (kapum) — the act of joining
  • Bulgarian: свързване (svǎrzvane) — the act of joining
  • Finnish: liittäminen — the act of joining
  • Finnish: liittyminen — the act of joining
  • Finnish: yhdistäminen — the act of joining
  • Finnish: yhdistyminen — the act of joining
  • Finnish: yhtyminen — the act of joining
  • Finnish: koplaus — the act of joining
  • Georgian: შეერთება (šeerteba) — the act of joining
  • Georgian: გაერთიანება (gaertianeba) — the act of joining
  • German: Verbindung — the act of joining
  • Hindi: संयोग (sãyog) — the act of joining
  • Malay: kopulasi — the act of joining
  • Portuguese: acoplagem — the act of joining
  • Portuguese: acoplamento — the act of joining
  • Portuguese: cópula — the act of joining
  • Portuguese: junção — the act of joining
  • Portuguese: ligação — the act of joining
  • Portuguese: união — the act of joining
  • Romanian: unire — the act of joining
  • Romanian: împerechere — the act of joining
  • Russian: соедине́ние (sojedinénije) — the act of joining
  • Spanish: copulación — the act of joining
  • Spanish: cópula — the act of joining
  • Tagalog: pagsasama — the act of joining
  • Tagalog: pag-copulate — the act of joining
  • Arabic: مُضَاجَعَة (muḍājaʕa) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Arabic: جِمَاع (jimāʕ) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Arabic: سفاد — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Armenian: զուգավորում (zugavorum) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Bulgarian: съвкупление (sǎvkuplenie) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Dutch: copulatie — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Esperanto: kopulacio — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Estonian: paaritumine — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Estonian: kopulatsioon — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Finnish: parittelu — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • French: copulation — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Georgian: სქესობრივი აქტი (skesobrivi akṭi) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Georgian: კოპულაცია (ḳoṗulacia) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Georgian: კოიტუსი (ḳoiṭusi) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Georgian: შეწყვილება (šec̣q̇vileba) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • German: Koitus — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • German: Kopulation — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • German: Beischlaf — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • German: Akt — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • German: Begattung — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • German: Paarung — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • German: Kohabitation — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Greek: συνουσία (synousía) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Ancient Greek: συνουσίᾱ (sunousíā) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Ancient Greek: μίξις (míxis) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Hindi: संभोग (sambhog) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Indonesian: kopulasi — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Japanese: 性交 (seikō) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Kazakh: шағылысу (şağylysu) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Kazakh: қатынас жасау (qatynas jasau) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Lithuanian: dauginimasis — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Malay: kopulasi — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Malay: persetubuhan — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Malay: persanggamaan — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Malay: hubungan jenis — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Malay: mengawan — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Polish: kopulacja — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Portuguese: coito — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Portuguese: cópula — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Romanian: copulație — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Romanian: împerechere — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Russian: сноше́ние (snošénije) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Russian: совокупле́ние (sovokuplénije) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Russian: копуля́ция (kopuljácija) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Russian: ко́итус (kóitus) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Slovak: kopulácia — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Slovak: párenie — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Spanish: coito — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Spanish: copulación — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Spanish: cópula — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Swedish: kopulation — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Tagalog: pagtatalik — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Telugu: రతి (rati) — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Vietnamese: giao phối — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse
  • Volapük: koit — the coming together of male and female in sexual intercourse